Acropolis Cinema
Bringing experimental, international, and undistributed films to Los Angeles
Rewind & Play (Dir. Alain Gomis, 2022)
Date: April 6, 2023
Time: 8:00pm
Location: 2220 Arts + Archives
Address: 2220 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90057
Introduction by writer, archivist, and artist Harmony Holiday!
In December 1969, legendary jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk ended his European concert tour with a performance at the Salle Pleyel in Paris. Before the show, he was invited to appear on a French television program to perform and answer questions in an intimate setting. Using newly discovered footage from this recording, director Alain Gomis (Félicité) reveals the disconnect between Monk and his interviewer, Henri Renaud, whose unwittingly trivializing approach conveys the casual racism and exploitation prevalent in the music industry at large. A fascinating behind-the-scenes documentary with extraordinary rarely-seen performances, Rewind & Play offers a unique opportunity to see Monk in a way that very few people did.
In person: Harmony Holiday
Riveting.
Tony Pipolo, Artforum
Rewind & Play dazzles! A gleaming portrait of Monk at work.
Lisa Kennedy, The New York Times
Gomis’s film illuminates [Monk] in a light in which we’ve rarely seen him... What Gomis has uncovered is fascinating.
Connor Williams, Reverse Shot
A minor masterwork of historical investigation and a fervent tribute to the epochally great musician... Monk’s solo performances [are] spectacular.
Richard Brody, The New Yorker
Makes Monk a man again, one who was gifted, loved, harassed... Shows not only a genius's performance but also the work of crafting a public image.
Blair McClendon, 4Columns
